aquablation and retro ejaculation

drmccabe, I'm sorry you've had all these complications as a result of your AQB. I too had concerns over the potential infection. I did a lot of "patient experience" reading ahead of time so I understood that the "expected recovery" info from the urologist was the "better" end of the spectrum. I am thankful that I was able to leave the hospital within 24 hours with no catheter and limited pain (some of that rectal, which had zero mention from the urology team). Thankful that resolved, but it took several weeks. Earlier in this thread I'd mentioned some pain/burning with RE. I can report that the next time "around the block" was much better. I'm a cyclist and am back to riding again, building back my mileage (time in the saddle) slowly. I am also a runner and that activity seems to have less impact on my lingering AQB symptoms. (Running before the surgery was as bad as, if not worse, than cycling.) Based on my "patient experience" reading I think I fell somewhere between best and worst case, but closer to best case. Had I not done the sleuthing ahead of time, I would have been disappointed/concerned how things went.

I had prostate aquablation done close to 6 months ago. My only issue was a blocked catheter after discharge from an overnight stay, due to the debris still coming oiut where I peed, and I had blood in my urine for about 4 weeks afterwards (no ill effects since that I know of).
My groin area has undergone significant issues over my lifetime, prior to aquablation. I have one undescended testicle (although fathered two amazing children), then got a hydrocell (sp?) in my one descended testicle that made it much larger due to the build-up of harmless fluid- I had that fixed surgically.

Then a TURP procedure due to enlarged prostate 10 years ago, followed by another TURP 3 months after as the first didn’t work (prostate collapsed in on itself, according to the urologist). He was pretty mad the second time and so gave me a “super-TURP”, after which he told me I most likely now would have ED, which I do, on Viagra now.
All of the above made my descended testicle smaller than the undescended one, gave me retro ejaculation, ED and lack of orgasm (I feel the build-up but then it just suddenly quits). In 2023 I have some UroLift implants which made me pee better, then the aquablation in December of 2025.
So, when I say “no ill effects”, there were not many ill effects left to have- but luckily no infections or major pain in any of this.

I had a TURP some years ago, then had to have another to fix the first one and have had similar problems with ED and orgasm. I'm pretty old and am reluctant to use Viagra etc. But also I'm too old to get upset about it (anymore).

Interesting that your story is similar to mine. I’m almost 74 and also don’t worry too much anymore. I had the aquablation as my prostate protruded into my bladder, so there was always a sizable well around my intrusion that never got drained ( not even with a catheter). My urologist was concerned about a UTI.

I had Aquablation surgery on March 26th so I'm now about 10 weeks post op. I'm 68, good health but got to the point that it was a problem to travel to town or other trips without planning bathroom breaks. Went through all the options with my Urologist and Turp he felt was a bad option since my prostrate was so large. He thought I would have to have the surgery again in 5 years or so. I chose Aquablation as it seemed to have the least amount of side effects. The other option he wanted me to consider and forgive my ignorance as I can't remember the procedures name, but it would be performed by laser and require several incision points in the stomach. It also came with a 100% chance of RE which I wanted to avoid if possible. He told me Aquablation came with a less than 10% chance of RE.

I had visible bleeding for the first 4 weeks but went away at that point and haven't had a problem since. All the other reported issues such as pain, almost a stinging feeling when done urinated was there for several weeks but it too went away. I went home same day from the hospital and had a cath. in for 5 days. After removal I had no problems with leaking or incontinence. My month follow up appointment went well. After going to the bathroom, I was checked to see if I had completely emptied my bladder. They performed an Ultrasound, and I had. Stream is good and I even make it through the night without having to get up now.

After about 3 weeks I was curious about RE so gave it a go and to my horror, orgasm but no ejaculate. I was disappointed for sure but since I had such good luck with the surgery so far, I tried to stay upbeat. Several weeks later I tried again with no luck. Yesterday was my third attempt and to my surprise, I was able to muster up a few (3) weak shots. Maybe a 1/4 of what was the norm before but at least something. I'm hoping as time goes by that function with continue to improve.

I would encourage patience for those having the same issue I did. My doctor did say it sometimes takes months for everything to settle down and get working again, especially if you had to have a large portion of the prostrate removed like I did. So far, I'm glad I chose the Aqua route, and hopeful things continue to improve. Best of luck men.